the leaders of our church are amazing men. i would be so bold to say that they are the most amazing men. they have led extraordinary lives and have gained great insights through the perspective of their callings. here at byu, we are so blessed to be able to hear from them on what seems like a weekly basis. when one of them speaks, we listen.
i just finished reading a talk that was given by elder eyring in october of ninety-seven.
"you are under mandate to pursue- not just while you are here, but throughout your lives- educational excellence." -henry b. eyring
we are not only great students, but great people here at byu. but more importantly, we are children of God. elder eyring presses this plain, yet prominent point upon us as he outlines how we ought to pursue our formal education. he warns us, as does every great prophet, of pride and the negative role it can play in our education. humility is not achieved easily. in fact, one day as i was driving down state street i passed one of my favorite signs which always displays a blunt and often humorous religious statement. on this particular day the sign read 'humility: once you know you have it, you've probably lost it'. that has always stuck with me along with a statement from elder uchtdorf who stressed that 'humility is not thinking less of oneself, but thinking less about oneself'. don't you just love that? elder eyring continues, there is something we can choose to do in our daily life that will provide a constant protection against pride. it is simply to remember who God is and what it means to be his child. i believe that by knowing who we are, we jointly come to see what role we play in His plan. by remembering our potential, we are reminded of how far we have to go. throughout my entire life i've always seen myself as somewhat of an intellectual. i have always loved to learn and invent. i have a deep desire to know things. so it came to me as a shock when i was having a conversation with a dear friend that even i, a self-proclaimed inventor and tinkerer, was not taking on the load that she was. it made me want to learn more and work harder. humility is amazing in that way. it makes you want to be better by making you feel small in the presence of great people. by always remembering our Savior, we can receive that boost that humility provides. by avoiding pride in our education, we avoid the laziness and comfort that has claimed so many great thinkers before us. when we are humble we try to be better and work harder. and the greatest humility comes by remembering that we are children of God who sent his Son to atone for us. it says in d&c 130:
18. whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
19. and if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
so keep on learning. be wise. remember the words of the prophets. and remember elder eyring's counsel to be humble.
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